Double Time
Page 37

Brian climbed onto the airplane and took a seat across from Trey. “Look at the picture I just took,” he said, holding up his cell phone so Trey could see the screen. In the picture Brian had his arm around Myrna who was cradling Malcolm against her chest. All three of them were smiling like idiots. Even the baby, who probably just had some gas. The picture was a little blurry because Brian had taken it by holding the camera phone in front of them with an extended arm, but the love displayed in that candid moment stole Trey’s breath.
“It’s great,” he said.
Brian looked at the picture and smiled. “Yeah. She’s supposed to send me lots of pictures until I come home in a couple days.”
“A couple days? We have two more weeks of shows.”
“And any day I have off I’m flying back. Dare already said I could use the jet anytime I want.”
“You’re going to wear yourself out.”
“I don’t care. Knowing I’ll see them again in a few days is the only thing that got me on the plane.”
“I can only imagine how hard it was to say good-bye to them,” Reagan said.
Brian glanced at her and smiled warmly. “So you’re Trey’s new girl.”
Trey loved the man’s smile. It always showed in his eyes. He was so genuine. It was one of the many reasons why Trey had stayed in love with the guy for so long. Hell, he still loved Brian even if he was letting him go. Or trying to. It had been a lot easier to pretend he could move on when Brian had been out of sight.
“I guess you could say that.” Reagan beamed and Trey found himself just as smitten with her smile as he was with Brian’s.
“So you play guitar. Metal?” Brian asked.
The engines started and Reagan had to talk extra loud to be heard. “You’re my greatest influence.”
“I am?” Brian’s brow knitted with confusion. “How long have you been playing?”
“Three years,” Trey said. “Can you believe it?”
“That’s amazing. Can’t wait to hear your work,” Brian said. His phone beeped and he grinned when he looked at the screen. He held up the display for Trey to see. “Look! He’s feeding.”
Breast feeding. Trey averted his gaze. He’d licked those br**sts about a year ago. And now… It was going to be a long two weeks.
“Please remember to turn off all electronic devices through the duration of the flight. Make sure your seatbelts are fastened during takeoff. I will let you know when it’s safe to move about the cabin.” The pilot’s voice came over the intercom. She had a sexy, British accent. Trey could have listened to her talk for hours. “Enjoy your flight.”
Brian switched off his phone but continued to hold it in his hand on his lap. He offered Trey a depressed smile before settling his gaze on Reagan. “So tell me how you came to be the rhythm guitarist for Exodus End,” he said.
She shifted into full-out gush mode, and Trey sat there grinning as she articulated every word with a hand gesture or facial expression. He’d never met anyone as animated as she was. Well, besides the few actors he knew. “So I’m at this club with my girlfriends. We all had a few too many and were trying to figure out how we were going to get home, when the bassist of my old band happens into the club. Chad’s a real sweetheart. I didn’t get along with our lead singer, but I’d work with Chad again. So I went to bum a ride from him and he says, ‘Just the guitarist I was looking for.’ I figured he wanted me to play for some new band he formed, but he shows me this ad in Guitar Planet for the contest with Exodus End. Go on Tour with Exodus End for a Year, or something like that. It said to enter you had to send a demo to the record company and sign a release and some other bullshit. Sounded like a big hassle to me. I didn’t want to enter. Didn’t think I had any business entering since there was no chance I’d ever win. As a metal guitarist, I take a lot of shit for being a chick, you know. Chad bribed me into agreeing by offering to give all my girls a ride home. Plus my friends were really enthusiastic about the idea and I was drunk as shit, so I somehow agreed to enter. I cut the demo in Chad’s basement the next day and sent it in unedited. I didn’t think there was a snow cone’s chance in a bonfire that they’d ever pick my demo for the live audition. I just did it to get people off my back.”
“How many of the entrants got a live audition?” Brian asked.
“Five out of something like five thousand.”
Brian’s dark brows lifted in surprise. “Impressive.”
“When the contest coordinator called, I thought they were making stuff up. That Chad had put one of his buddies up to calling me and giving me a hard time. My old band members are notorious for f**king with me.” She paused and lifted a hand of caution in Trey’s direction. “Not f**king me. I never slept with any of them. So after about ten minutes of trying to get this exasperated dude on the phone to admit he was a friend of Chad’s, it finally sunk in that I won the live audition. I was so nervous that I didn’t want to go. My roommate, Ethan, talked me into it. Reminding me how I’d always regret not giving my all. I knew he was right. I’d always wonder if I didn’t go through with it. I was so nervous in the studio yesterday, I thought I was going to hurl. And then Trey shows up right before the five finalists were scheduled to go into the booth for our live auditions. I think that’s when reality hit me. I put everything I had into that audition. Something about knowing Trey was listening really upped my game. I’m not sure how I would have done if he hadn’t showed up. I probably would have thrown up on my guitar and started crying.”
“I don’t deserve any credit,” Trey said. “She’s amazing. I actually thought she was you when I heard her play. She has the same balls-out style you play with.”
Brian laughed. “Now that I have to see.”
“I don’t let my balls out for just anyone,” Reagan said. She grabbed her crotch and pretended to shift her balls into a more comfortable position. “But I’ll make an exception in your case.”
Brian gaped at her and then burst out laughing. “So you two hooked up at the audition?”
“Afterward,” Trey said.
“He beat me in a guitar duel and then I took him for a ride in Exodus End’s limo.” She shifted in her seat and looked over her shoulder to the bathroom at the rear of the plane. “Speaking of taking Trey for a ride.”